The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) has called on the Chancellor to stick to his guns on the deficit reduction programme and use the estimated £4bn windfall from the sale of 4G licences to spend on projects likely to boost the economy in the short-term.

It made the call as the Chancellor prepares to present his Autumn Statement to the nation on 5 December.

CBI director-general, John Cridland (pictured), said: 'The CBI fully supports the government's deficit reduction plan. This is critical for the UK to keep the confidence of international markets.

'However, the government does have additional resources available - it underspent by £7.8bn last year and will receive a windfall of up to £4bn from the 4G spectrum auction next year.

'We believe that around £1.5bn of this resource should be targeted on short-term, high-impact measures to support growth. These include: local government spending on road maintenance, incentivising take-up of the Green Deal, capping business rates at 2% in 2013, a new capital allowance incentive for infrastructure investment, and scrapping stamp duty on AIM shares to encourage investment in medium-sized businesses.'

The CBI also warned the Chancellor against attacking pension relief tax.

Cridland said: 'Lowering the threshold below £50,000 is not a wealth tax - it's an income tax which would hit swathes of middle-income earners.

'This would hit small business owners who invested heavily in their companies in the early years so back-load pension contributions to the end of their working lives, particularly hard. It would also be a major blow to professionals saving in defined benefit schemes - like senior nurses, retail store managers or gas engineers - who get a pay rise or a promotion.

'Reducing the tax free limit would fly in the face of the government's efforts to encourage more people to save adequately for their retirement, and its drive to position the UK as a world-leading business investment location.'

The CBI also wants the government to create a business bank that will help "ease the transition to a new normal of business lending".